Livingstone’s Media & Technology team has advised Comet Global Consulting Ltd., a leading provider of marketing automation and decisioning solutions, on its acquisition by Merkle Inc, a private US group based in Maryland, focused on CRM, digital, and search. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2006, and with its main office in Barcelona (Spain),Comet specialises in the implementation of marketing automation and decisioning solutions for clients such as Telefonica O2, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Life, EE, Fifth Third Bank, DIRECTV, and Sky. The company drives the growth and profitability of global brands by enabling them to interact with their customers in real-time and with greater relevance. Through powerful partnerships with CRM software providers, such as Pega Systems, IBM, and SAS, Comet implements advanced marketing automation and customer decisioning capabilities for its clients.

Comet’s expertise in the telecommunications, financial services, retail, travel, and media industries represented a strategic fit to Merkle’s vertical go-to-market approach. This transaction will enable Comet to reach the next phase of growth under Merkle ownership.

“We are excited to welcome Comet to Merkle. This is an important acquisition for us as we continue to bolster our offering and solidify our position as a global leader in performance marketing. The Livingstone team ran a very efficient process as Comet’s advisor and were involved at every level to navigate the complexities of an international deal and to help facilitate a successful close.” said Bart Shaeffer, Vice President Corporate Development of Merkle.

Steven Lewis, Partner at Livingstone Madrid who led the transaction, commented: “The purchase of Comet by Merkle demonstrates once again Livingstone’s ability to deliver creative cross border transactions. The owners of Comet asked us to help them locate an international partner which would provide further growth opportunities for the shareholders and the employees and we believe that with Merkle we delivered the ideal solution.”

Daniel Domberger, Partner at Livingstone London and Head of the Technology team added: “The sale of Comet to Merkle is the third major technology transaction we have completed in the past three months, following on from the development capital raise for email marketing platform Adestra’s expansion into the US, and the sale of voice of the customer and online market research platform eDigitalResearch to MARU Group backed by Primary Capital. We continue to see significant acquisitive demand for high-quality targets across the ecommerce enablement and marketing technology sectors.”